I’m starting to get more and more excited about him. If that’s his timeline and Abreu continues to be not awesome maybe he’s in a platoon situation (or just takes over) 1B in 2025.
Still showing power even after hamate surgery which usually saps power for a year. Hoping he can cut down the strikeouts eventually but this guy has the most raw power in our system
Is it normal for a guy to play one game in the complex league and then get sent to A ball? I'm not sure what that accomplishes. The optimist in me wants to say the coaches saw some things they really liked once they got they got their hands on him.
The draftees usually go to the complex after they sign for at least a couple weeks anyway, so whether they play in the FCL games while they’re there doesn’t really matter. And Matthews (like all the position player college draftees) was always extremely likely to be assigned to Fayetteville by early August. But yeah I don’t think it’s all that common for dudes to play just 1 game before moving on.
I think it is mostly like just have a rehab appearance after an IL stint. They probably just wanted to get him some swings against live pitching again before challenging him.
Astros released P Yefri Carrillo and OF Frank Perez. Both were 2nd tier intl bonus signees but neither were ever really prospects of note. By my count Houston is at 186 players in their system with 6 signed draftees still not announced, so they’ll need to cut another 12 guys soon to get under the 180 player limit; that assumes prospects on the 60 day IL count toward the limit which I am not certain about.
Nope. He was working with a development organization in some capacity but I’m not sure if that was for himself or as a coach/employee. His roster status on milb.com still shows as active but I am assuming he was either released or retired. EDIT: https://www.thecharlotteweekly.com/...cle_c6aae484-4b31-11ed-9a01-4b261e6f8f27.html Not sure if that’s him but if so, whoopsie. EDIT 2: I don’t think that’s him, since he tweeted in April of this year:
I’m starting to get more and more excited about him. If that’s his timeline and Abreu continues to be not awesome maybe he’s in a platoon situation (or just takes over) 1B in 2025. That's sort of my point if the Astros can develop someone from within. I doubt Jimbo spends money on a FA, but if they can replace from the minors then they can slide him to the bench without getting butthurt about it or feeling like the budget is out of whack. Clifford seems like maybe the best shot in the org to do that even though he's all of a week past his 20th birthday I guess and 1.5 years from now is pretty quick. Hell, even 2 years if he came up mid season in 2025 is pushing it.
They moved Ryan Johnson and Jeron Williams up to Fayetteville today as well, so it's not just a Matthews thing. It may be that they want to have playing for their young infielders in the FCL. There have also been quite a few games postponed in Florida recently as well.
He needs to show that he will make enough contact against higher level pitching. He doesn't swing at a lot of stuff outside the zone, he has a simple batting approach as a lefty who leverages his size and natural strength into a lot of power. He is underrated when it comes to his power potential. If he makes enough contact he could hit 35-40 homers in his prime. He is an underrated athlete and outfielder, where he has a strong arm and surprisingly solid foot speed at this point. However, at 6'3" and nearly 220 lbs at 19 years old, he is likely going to end up with a similar build as Freddie Freeman or Ryan Klesko. While he can be an adequate corner outfielder, I think that he can become a Gold Glove type first baseman with his size, arm and soft hands. He is a cerebral player that has been into the mechanics and technology of hitting since he was 12 years old. He had a strong interest in being drafted by the Astros for that very reason. He reminds me a lot as a player of Ryan Klesko and Freddie Freeman. He has that type of power, and leverage from the left side. He also has the same contact issue in the zone that plagued both of them as young players. He was drafted almost 1.5 years older than Freddie Freeman was, but his rise is similar to that of Klesko and Freeman. Freeman jumped three levels in one year at 20, and was solid the first couple of years but really it was his third or fourth year where he started to pop. Klesko had similar production in the minors as Clifford as well. I expect Clifford to likely get a taste of AA this season, but either way he likely opens next year in AA and IF he can make enough contact in the zone to hit for a solid average, he will likely spend the second half of 2024 in AAA and probably compete to make the Astros out of 2025. He will be 21-22 years old at that point. He and Luis Baez are likely the top bat prospects in the system right now, They is Kenni Gomez, but he just turned 18 and the Astros are working on cutting a hole out of his swing - so he is likely two years behind Clifford and Baez, assuming he plays well. Camillo Diaz is quietly doing very well but he is 3-4 years away if he plays well.
I am not expecting anything close to a smooth minor league rise for him. He has a lot of things he can do well, and he has legitimate upside but hitting has not always come easy for him. He is the type of player that may have to repeat a level or two before he gets to the big leagues. A lot of potential but a lot of work needed too, especially for a college player.
So much has changed since the removal of the short season Class A teams. We only have 2021 & 2022 to go on. Gilbert & Melton played 4 games. Hamilton & Loperfido didn't play at the complex.
Roiner Quintana homered twice and Francisco Caldera hit a go-ahead three-run home run (1) in the 9th to give the DSL Blue team a 10-7 win over the Orange team. Marco Marcelino hit a grand slam for the Orange team, which was one of only two hits they recorded in this game. DSL baseball!
Either when he was named to the Baseball America Top 100 prospects list, when he posted a wRC+ of 122 with a low k rate and healthy walk rate out of the gate in Low A in 2019, or when he smacked 25 HR while getting solid defensive reviews in AAA last season. Like a ton of prospects, 2020 really screwed him. His first full pro season was wiped out. That is HUGE, especially for a catcher. That’s why even though he’s 25 and repeating AAA, I still think he might be able to improve. His floor is pretty high given he has a 70 grade arm and enough power to hit at least at a Maldonadoian level, and his ceiling is still very high; even a moderate improvement in reducing his k rate probably makes him a 2-3 win everyday catcher.
Alex Santos II threw his best game of the season tonight for Asheville going 4ip 8k 2bb 1h 0r. He has been a total bust this season and easily one of the biggest disappointments on the farm this year but maybe this is a sign of a miracle turnaround.
